Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Abolitionists by D. L.

The documentary “Three Abolitionists Who Helped Change America”
tells us the significance of three men in particular and their impact on
the abolitionist movement. At that time, being an abolitionist was a
challenge. David Walker, David Ruggles, and Anthony Burns were all
looked up to for various reasons. David Walker used his freedom of
speech and press for his abolitionism. David Ruggles believed in the use
of practical abolition. He liked more of a direct confrontation towards
the topic of slavery. Ruggles owned a bookstore in which he helped hide
and protect many slaves and he would often be out by the ports to watch
for illegal smuggling. Anthony Burns had the greatest impact when he
decided to escape and run from slavery. Only to be caught and jailed.
Soon after, he was sold to an abolitionist and gained his freedom. All
these men had a great impact on opening the eyes of people who hadn’t
realized how important it was to be an abolitionist.
In the article, “A Departure from Their Place”, we read
about how women were involved in various petitions submitted to
congress. Also, how the women’s place in society didn’t affect them into
doing what they believed to be right. For example, in these petitions,
the signature places were divided between Citizens, men, Ladies or even
Neighbors, and minors. These petitions showed society where women stood
and this didn’t affect the women into not wanting to take action. On the
contrary! Once congress decided to disregard the petitions sent in by
women, the women responded by sending even more and more their way.
In class we also took a look at an article titled
“Address to the Slaves of the United States” by William Lloyd Garrison.
In this article we found what slave owners feared most. One reason being
that Slaves knew that their “masters are cowardly and weak, through
conscious wrong doing”. A few questions that still remain in my head are
why congress would disregard petitions if that was their job. Next, I
would have liked to get more into the process of how Anthony Burns
eventually made it out of jail and became a free man. Also, how whites
reacted to the acts of the three men who were so recognized in the
abolition movement.